Levels
by ChocolateAffairs
Summary: What if your family kept a deep secret from you? What if that secret unleashed an exciting, new, adventurous chapter in your life? Take a look to see how the life of a 16 year old American girl named Akira Oita unfold. NarutoXOC
1. Chapter 1

I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

Enjoy.

**[Chapter One: Permission Granted]**

"You've grown to be quite strong, Akira," the old woman complimented.

She approached the 16 year old girl and gently pat her head. The raven haired beauty bowed before the old woman and smiled.

"Thank-you grandmother Akemi," she responded.

Akira gently took her grandmother's hand and slowly led her back to the garden chairs placed under the patio umbrella to rest from their little spar. Her grandmother took a seat and sighed as she studied the decorated ravine her granddaughter called "the backyard."

"You have it lucky here in America my dear," Akira's grandmother said.

"Hardly," Akira sighed. "It's all piano lessons, French lessons, Japanese lessons, tutoring, and studying."

"Be grateful you have the opportunity to do such things," grandmother Akemi said.

"But grandmother, I want an adventure!" Akira said. "Ever since mom and dad forced me to quit Kyokushin and Kendo, life has been boring."

"It was for the better my dear, just focus on your studies to become successful like your parents," grandmother Akemi replied as she presented the mansion Akira lived in.

Akira rolled her eyes and released a long sigh. She could care less about money and success. She wasn't happy. She felt as if she were trapped in a cell, just waiting to be released. Her grandmother pat her head once more then gestured for her to stand back up.

"How about we go join everyone for dinner," she said. "Let's just enjoy my last day here before I leave."

Akira frowned, "Alright…"

[ - ]

"Mom, no, I can't let you take her there, it's too dangerous." The middle aged woman proclaimed with much concern in her tone of voice.

"Hikari, she'll remain in the village at all times," Grandmother Akemi argued.

"She'll get hurt, mom." Hikari barked.

"Akira is a strong young woman, even if I weren't there to protect her, she could manage things just fine on her own," Akemi said sternly. "Akira isn't happy, Hikari. She's bored."

Hikari pressed her lips together in annoyance, with a taut expression on her face. Akemi crossed her arms over her chest and stared intently into Hikari's eyes. Convincing her daughter to have her granddaughter travel back with her to the Fire Country for training surely was troublesome.

"I left that part of my life for a reason, it's sick," Hikari scowled. "I don't want my kids to be around that environment, Mom."

"I will only take Akira, her brothers will remain here," Akemi replied. "It's only for the summer; she will return safely for school, lessons and tutoring."

Hikari was past the point of annoyance and hit frustration. She couldn't let go of her daughter so easily. She wanted Akira to be home, safe. She wouldn't allow it. Akemi gently placed her hand on Hikari's shoulder and shook her head.

"You can't keep hiding this from Akira," she said.

"_Hiding what from Akira." _

Akemi and Hikari both turned to the opening of the kitchen that connected to the common area where Akira remained after dinner. Akira stood there with her arms crossed over her chest. Her face was stern but had a hint of anger from the whispered conversation she heard from behind the wall. Akemi shot Hikari a look that made Hikari roll her eyes. Hikari lifted both hands and begun to massage the temples of her head, as if she were trying to relieve a headache.

"Your grandmother is requesting my permission to have you go back with her to the Fire country to train you to become a ninja," Hikari growled.

Akira's eyes widened in confusion, "A nin…ja?" she asked.

Hikari pulled out a chair from the dinner table then pat the cushion for Akira to take a seat. Akira quickly walked over and placed her bum on the lushly upholstered chair. Hikari sighed and took a seat as well.

"Before your father and I came to America, we lived in a village in the Fire Country called Konoha," she explained. "We were a part of an elite team, known as the ANBU run by higher rank ninja."

Akira's eyes lit up in excitement as she continued to listen in on this exciting story, pretending to know what "ANBU" was, but assuming it was an incredible title.

"We felt that this wasn't the type of life we wanted you and your brothers to have so we requested for the leader of the village, the Hokage, to strip us from our titles and leave the village," Hikari explained further. "Of course both your grandmother and the Hokage were against this course of action but, your father and I insisted."

Akemi pat Hikari's back gently and smiled. Hikari frowned slightly and continued, "We wanted you to have a better future so we moved to America for education, money and a normal life. But, once we found potential in your Kyokushin and Kendo classes, we pulled you out, afraid of what it might've led to."

"MOM!" Akira whined, angry at the ridiculous reasoning behind the cancellation of her favourite extracurricular classes.

"Just let her finish my dear," Hakemi said.

Akira pouted then crossed her arms over her chest.

"But, since coming here, you seem to lack our Japanese culture which is essential and your grandmother seems to find great potential in you so, I'm allowing it." Hikari hissed.

Akira stretched her arms out before her and jumped at her mother. She wrapped her arms around Hikari's neck and squeeled, "THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU!"

Hikari pried Akira off and set her back down on the chair, "There are conditions."

"Okay, okay, what are they!" Akira said excitedly.

"One, you are only staying there for 2 months, remember, I was once a part of the ANBU therefore I can pull you right out in a matter of seconds," she said sternly. "Two, you are to listen to your grandmother at all times, if you don't… she will literally do as she pleases with you, and three, you are to stay in the village at all times. You are restricted from undergoing any "missions" while you are there."

Akira nodded her head frantically with a wide smile plastered on her face. Hakemi smiled as well for she was also excited for the results her granddaughter will have. Hikari stretched her arm out and tightly wrapped her arms around Akira.

"You get some rest okay? You're leaving first thing in the morning." She whispered into her delicate daughters' ear.

"Okay, I love you mom," Akira replied, kissing her mom on the cheek.

"I will contact Tsunade to send out some of her elite nin to escort us back to the village once we reach the border of River Country to the Fire Country," Akemi said then, exited the room.

"I'm going to go to bed, love you Mom!" Akira said after releasing the hug from her mother, then sprinting up the marble spiral staircase to her room.

Hakemi waved then dragged her feet toward the common area. She slumped down onto the leather black sofa and rested her head. _'My hair color's going to end up looking like Kakashi's by the end of these two months…'_

[ TO BE CONTINUED ]

I know this chapter was kind of slow but, I promise more action, adventure, romance, etc.


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own any of the Naruto characters. Just Akira, Akemi, Hikari, Raiden, Hiro and Jiro. **

**Enjoy :)**

**Chapter Two: A New Environment **

The morning sun poured in through the tall windows and into the white room. Akira groaned and pulled the covers over her head to avoid the bright light. She was having such a wonderful sleep; she didn't want anything to get in the way of interrupting it. Akemi poked her head into the white room and noticed Akira still snoozing away. A large sweat drop appeared at the side of her head before she let herself in walked over to Akira's bed. Akemi pulled the covers off and shook her beautiful granddaughter to awaken her.

"Akira, wake up, it's 6:45 already," Akemi said.

Akira groaned and rolled away from her grandmother. Akemi continued to attempt to shake Akira to wake her up from her deep slumber but, she had no luck. Hikari had suddenly entered the room, checking up on the current situation. She noticed her lazy daughter still asleep and grew angry.

"Do you really see potential in her, Mom?" Hikari asked, pointing at the drooling 16 year old.

"You were just as difficult in the morning," Akemi chuckled.

Hikari rolled her eyes and walked into Akira's bathroom. She took the cup by the sink and filled it with cold water. A smirk evilly crept on her lips as she walked over the Akira's bed. She lifted the cup and positioned it just above her head.

"And now I'm going to do to her what you did to me," Hikari chuckled then poured the cold water on Akira.

Akira jolted up from her bed and screamed at the water soaking her hair, face and clothes. Hikari and Akemi laughed at her reaction.

"MOM, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Akira screamed, hopping right out of her soaked bed.

Hikari folded her arms over her chest after setting the empty cup on the bedside table, "It's 6:55, you're to leave for your flight in 5 minutes and you haven't packed yet."

"Actually, I stayed up a little later last night packing," Akira growled, pointing at her suitcase on the floor. "I even slept in the outfit I was _supposed _to wear during our trip to Konoha but SOMONE decided to pour water all over it."

Hikari tried to think of a response but, was much too surprised. Akira stuck her nose in the air, and brushed past her mother to her closet to grab a random outfit. Akemi chuckled at her flabbergasted daughter and headed out of the room.

"I'll meet you downstairs in 3 minutes, Akira," Akemi said.

"Yes, grandma," Akira responded, as she quickly stripped out of her wet clothes and changed into her new outfit.

"Okay, Akira, I owe you an apology," Hikari said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a green pouch shaped as a frog, and handed it to Akira.

"What's this?" Akira asked, finishing putting her outfit together.

"This should be enough money for your time there," Hikari responded. "Spend it wisely, and make sure you don't lose it."

Akira smiled and put it in her pocket. She approached her mother and hugged her once more.

"I'll miss you," Akira whispered.

Hikari returned the hug, "I'll miss you too, sweetie."

The hug was then interrupted by Akemi calling out for Akira to hurry. Hikari pulled away then bent down to lift the handle of Akira's suitcase. Akira ran out of the room and Hikari followed. Once Akira reached the bottom of the staircase, she noticed her father and her two twin brothers waiting by the front door. A wide smile spread across her face and she ran toward the three and underwent a warm group hug.

"Don't get eaten by monsters," her little brother, Hiro said.

"And bring us back some toys!" Hiro's twin, Jiro said.

Akira giggled then messily rubbed their heads, "Of course."

"You better not come back with a boyfriend," Akira's father, Raiden said.

"Yes, dad…" Akira groaned then hugged him once more.

"Oh, and I want you to have this," Raiden walked into the common area for a brief moment and came out with some sort of dark blue band with a silver plate attached to it. There seemed to be a strange design on the plate. The design was a small tail attached to one side of a swirl and a pointed edge on the other side, forming the shape of what looked like a leaf.

"What's this?" Akira asked.

"It was my old headband," Raiden replied. "I got this when I graduated from Konoha's Ninja Academy."

Akira smiled and wrapped it around her waist as a belt. She was honoured to be given this opportunity and she wasn't going to let her parents and her grandmother down with disappointment. She took her suitcase from her mother and headed straight for the door with Akemi. Raiden wrapped his arm around Hikari's waist and planted a kiss on her forehead before the two watched their daughter climb into the taxi. Akemi and Akira waved goodbye from the opened window of the yellow cab then disappeared into the sunlight.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Hikari asked.

"I think she'll be fine," Raiden responded. "After all, Kakashi and Akemi are there to look after her."

[ - ]

"Why must Tsunade-sama send me on such useless missions," the grumpy blonde complained.

"You shouldn't complain so much, Naruto," the masked man responded.

"But, Kakashi-sensei, D-Rank missions are a waste of time! She knows I am capable of doing much more than escorting someone…" Naruto whined.

Kakashi ignored Naruto's comment and stopped in his tracks. Naruto hadn't realized and accidentally bumped right into him.

"Oi Kakashi!" he yelled angrily.

"I guess this is the border," Kakashi said, analyzing the huge cement wall with a large, secured gate that seemed to be the only way of getting through.

"Wow," Naruto elongated.

Kakashi analyzed his surroundings then spotted a bench nearby, "Let's take a seat while we wait for them."

"How long are they going to take?" Naruto yelled.

Kakashi took a seat and shrugged, "I'm not sure but, it shouldn't take very long."

Naruto groaned as he dragged his feet along the cobble stone path and planted his bum next to Kakashi on the bench. Kakashi was very curious as to what Tsunade-sama meant when she mentioned that this was a "special" mission fit only him and Naruto. He understood that Naruto hasn't been given any difficult missions for the past few months but, him too? His thoughts were immediately interrupted by a loud creak of the doors slowly opening. Both Kakashi and Naruto stood from the bench and walked toward the gate.

Kakashi's eyes widened at the sight of the individual walking with his home town neighbour, Akemi. _'Hikari? That can't possibly be her… she hasn't aged since she left!' _he thought, as the two approached him.

Akira was excited but also very nervous. She was usually very outgoing and loud but, this new environment completely changed that. Once she spotted the two escorts, she stuck closely to her grandmother. The one with silver hair looked quite strange… with the majority of his face covered in a mask. She's never seen anyone in America look like that before. Then, she noticed the handsome blonde boy next to him. Akira couldn't help but blush at his dreamy blue eyes. _'GAH! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME TODAY?' _Akira thought.

"Good afternoon, Kakashi, Naruto," Akemi happily greeted. "How are you today?"

"We're fine thank-you," Kakashi replied. "How was your trip?"

"Quite tiring," Akemi sighed, then placed her hand on Akira's back to push her closer to the two. "Anyway, this is my granddaughter, Akira. She's visiting Konoha for the next few months for training."

'_Wow… the resemblance is uncanny.' _Kakashi thought before he greeted the young girl with a smile.

"Hi, my name's Naruto, the future Hokage." Naruto smiled and stuck out a hand for her to shake.

Akira recognized the term **Hokage **as she returned the shake. _'What determination…' _Akira thought as she admired his pearly whites from that wide grin of his. Naruto released the shake and turn, "Now let's hurry back to the village, I'm starving for some Ichiraku!"

Naruto began to walk with Akira, Akemi and Kakashi following. Kakashi slowed his pace to walk with Akemi for a little chat. Akemi smiled and nodded.

"They are fine, Kakashi," Akemi read his mind. "They're happy."

"That's good," Kakashi sighed. "But, may I ask you one question?"

"Yes, dear," Akemi replied.

Kakashi ripped his vision from the kind old woman and stared at the back of Akira's head, "How did you manage to get her to tag along with you, Hikari would never have allowed it."

"You know how stubborn Hikari is," Akemi chuckled. "But, I had my ways."

Kakashi smiled from underneath his mask and nodded.

"You miss her, I can tell," Akemi whispered.

Kakashi's heart skipped a beat, and he jumped at the sudden statement. He stared at her wide-eyed, then frantically shook his head in disagreement. Akemi shot him a look that had a large sweat droplet appear at the side of Kakashi's head. She knew him well enough to see through his calm, cool, and collected façade when it came to that topic.

"Just so you know, I am still favouring you over Raiden," Akemi said.

"Ehehe, don't be ridiculous Akemi," Kakashi laughed nervously. "She's a married woman now, it's much too late."

Akemi shrugged before watching over Akira walking silently behind Naruto.

"So, Akira, how is it over there in America?" Naruto asked, folding his arms and placing his hands behind his head.

"Uh, it's okay, kind of boring," Akira stuttered.

"Well, it's good that you're visiting Konoha, it's never a dull moment!" Naruto exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air.

"Ahaha, thanks," Akemi smiled. "I hope to be as good as my parents."

"Your parents?" Naruto asked.

Akira continued to smile and went on about the story her mother had recently told her about their special team and departure from the village. She was proud of having such cool parents. Naruto seemed very impressed and amazed as he listened.

"C-Could I maybe join your training?" Naruto asked, scratching the tip of his nose as he began to blush.

"I'm sure it'll be fine with grandma," Akira smiled. "Why not?"

Naruto grinned, "PERFECT! We better walk faster if we want to start training sooner!"

He grabbed her wrist and started running. Akira's eyes widened in shock as she struggled to keep up with his fast pace. Her face began to burn, and the color changed from beige to bright red in a matter of seconds.

To be continued!

Hope you liked it :D


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

Enjoy.

**[Chapter Three: Home, Sweet Home]**

It was a long journey, but the quad finally made it to the village of Konoha. Akira admired the beauty of the village as she entered through the large wooden gates. The entire village seemed to be bustling about with chores, shopping or children playing. Naruto inhaled a large amount of air through his nostrils as he placed his fists on his sides, and then slowly exhaled through his mouth.

"Home, sweet home!" he said before glancing at Akira, as if he were waiting for what her first impression of the village was.

She smiled at the handsome blonde, "It feels so… homey"

Akemi placed her hand on Akira's shoulder and smiled, "C'mon, let's get settled at home."

Akira nodded, but felt a sense of disappointment. Now that Naruto and Kakashi had fulfilled their mission, it was time for them to depart and undertake greater, more difficult missions. She had a great interest in this boy, he was different… _unique. _

"Hey, granny Akemi, do you think it would be okay if I could show Akira around the village?" Naruto asked.

Akira's heart skipped and her face lit up in excitement. She reacted so quickly, she hadn't realized she looked a little too excited. She quickly attempted to gather herself together to seem calm and collected, but it failed once her face blushed over a thousand shades of red.

"Oi, Naruto, don't be so forward," Kakashi said. "Akira just got here, she's probably tired."

"I-I'm fine," Akira stuttered. "Would it be okay, grandma?"

"That's fine with me," Akemi smiled.

"Alright, to the Oita residence!" Naruto exclaimed.

Akemi led the way through the busy marketplace with the rest following. Akira felt awkward, and out of place as she noticed some of the villagers staring at her as if she were some sort of zoo animal. She stuck close to her grandmother and decided to look down the entire way home to avoid any awkward stares. Her eyes widened when she overheard one of the whispered conversations.

"_Who's that hottie walking with Kakashi-sensei and Naruto?"_

"_I do not know but she is beautiful! I will go introduce myself!"_

"_No way, Lee. I saw her first, right Akamaru?"_

Akira's head shot up from the ground and immediately turned to the direction where she heard the conversation. It was too crowded for her to determine who the two guys were. She wasn't sure whether to be flattered or offended by the loud comments. Suddenly, she bumped into something, and nearly fell on her bum. She caught herself before she realized it was her grandmother that she bumped into.

"Are you alright, Akira?" Akemi asked.

"Uh yeah, sorry about that," Akira said, then looked up to see the entrance for a condominium townhouse.

"Well, I'm going to take a short nap, it was good seeing you today Lady Akemi," Kakashi-sensei said as he walked toward the door right next to Akemi's. "It was nice meeting you, Akira. Bye, Naruto."

Akira slightly bowed while Akemi and Naruto waved. After Kakashi closed the door behind him, Akemi pulled her keys out from her pockets.

"It surely isn't a mansion, but its home," Akemi said as she inserted the keys to open the wooden door.

"No, it's perfect." Akira smiled as she walked in.

It was bright, warm and decorated with several flowers and family pictures. Akemi walked down the hallway, toward the staircase.

"Please follow me, Akira," she said. "I will show you to your room,"

Akira nodded and followed after her grandmother. Naruto laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head, "I-I'll just wait here I guess!"

Akira reached the top of the stairs and noticed her grandmother stand before the door at the end of the 2nd floor hallway. She walked over and gasped once she took a look into her room for the next 2 months. It was a white room, with several scrolls organized in a pile in the back corner, sharp dangerous weapons that hung by the closet, and a white mask with a cat like design placed on the bed.

"This was your mother's room when she was younger," Akemi said.

"Wow, this is amazing," Akira gasped as she continued to scan the room. "Mom… was… so intense!"

"Surely she was a very talented nin," Akemi sighed.

Akira gently placed her bag on the floor, next to the bed and looked at her grandmother, "Will I be able to be as good as mom?"

Akemi nodded, "With your determination and my training, of course."

Akira smiled and wrapped her arms around Akemi, nuzzling her head on her neck, "Thank-you grandma, I love you."

"I love you too, dear," Akemi said. "Now, go on, have a good time with Naruto, and be home before 12 a.m"

Akira nodded then rushed down the stairs, to find Naruto staring at some of the family photos. He noticed her presence and a wide grin spread across his face as he pointed at one picture, "Is this you?"

Akira's eyes widened as she took a look at the photo. It was her when she was a baby, completely naked in the tub, holding a rubber duck. Her face flushed as Naruto began to laugh.

"It's really cute," he managed to sigh after his minute of complete laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go," she groaned, grabbing his wrist and dragging him out of her grandmother's home.

**[ - ]**

"And finally, these are the Hokage monuments," Naruto said as he stared out into the carved mountain. "My face will be carved into that mountain one day."

Akira pulled her vision from the monuments and turned to Naruto. He stared at the mountain with such intent and determination; it was almost as if she already expected it to happen.

"I believe in you, Naruto." She smiled.

Naruto looked back at Akira and smiled, "Thanks."

"_Hey Naruto!" _

Both Akira and Naruto turned back. Akira's eyes widened as she noticed a girl with bright pink hair walking toward them. Usually, hair colors other than blonde, brown, black, or red are strange but this girl somehow managed to pull it off with her pale skin and celadon green eyes. Suddenly, a rush of anger filled his pink haired girl and a punch was thrown right at Naruto's head. Naruto screamed in pain as he held the large bump that grew at the side of his head from the punch. Akira's eyes widened as she slightly backed away from the angry girl.

"You _baka! _You forgot to report the completion of your mission to Lady Tsunade! She's been asking about you all day!" the girl raged.

Naruto groaned as he rubbed his head, "Ouch, Sakura that hurt so much!"

Sakura turned from the whining blonde, then toward Akira. Her angry face immediately changed into an innocent, cute face, "Oh hi, who are you?"

"Uh… I'm Akira Oita," Akira stuttered, scared to shake Sakura's hand. "I'm sorry, Naruto's been showing me around Konoha; it's my fault he didn't report anything."

A large sweat drop dripped down the side of Sakura's head as a tremulous smile crept her lips, "Oh, ehehe, nice to meet you, I'm Sakura Haruno and no, you don't have to apologize that's quite alright, Akira."

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled before the pink haired girl flicked him away with such strength.

"I would love to stay but, I'm extremely busy in the office, good bye!" Sakura said before disappearing.

Akira ran over to Naruto and bent over to help him up by placing her right hand on his back, and taking his hand with her left. She carefully pulled him up from the ground until he was capable of standing once more. Naruto dusted himself off before rubbing the bump.

"That is one crazy woman," he shivered.

"I'll say," Akira chuckled.

"Anyway, there's one last place I'd like to take you!" Naruto exclaimed, as if he immediately recovered from that little incident.

"Where's that?" Akira curiously asked.

"It's the best ramen place in town," Naruto said. "Ichiraku Ramen!"

Naruto grabbed her wrist and sprinted through the marketplace. Akira clenched her teeth _'Not again!' _she thought as she struggled to keep up with the vivacious teen. Suddenly, he made a complete stop causing Akira to crash right into him, and fall back, but she wasn't able to catch herself this time. Just as she was about to land on the dirt ground, Naruto quickly reached out to her and grabbed both her wrists.

"Gotcha," he said as he pulled her up.

Akira blushed when Naruto's piercing blue eyes locked with her forest green ones for a moment which seemed like an eternity to her. Naruto quickly released her and grinned while scratching his head, "Sorry, I just get really excited when it comes to ramen."

He turned his body and gestured for her to follow him. He stopped before a small bar which included thick pieces of paper hanging from the roof and 6 empty seats. He lifted the flap of paper and made an entrance for Akira to walk through first. Akira smiled and entered. A man, around his 40's, turned from behind the counter, wiping a large bowl clean with the apron wrapped around his waist.

"Oh, hello Naruto," the man said. "How was your mission."

"Ah! So boring, but, I met this girl," Naruto replied, patting Akira on the back. "Her name's Akira."

The man gently placed the bowl on top of the stack of bowls at the end of the counter then reached over to Akira for a hand shake, "Nice to meet you Akira, I am Teuchi." He said with a big smile.

She gently took his hand and shook, "Nice to meet you!"

"So, what will it be?" he asked the two.

"2 of the usual, old man!" Naruto said excitedly while smacking his hand upon the table.

"Naruto, let Akira decide for herself!" Teuchi nagged.

Naruto's shoulders dropped, and Akira laughed.

"It's alright, I'll try this 'usual' Naruto is speaking of." She said with a thumbs up.

"Great! You'll love!" Naruto said, planting his bum on the seat, and patting the one next to him for Akira to do the same.

"Alright, 2 chicken cutlet ramen's coming right up!" Teuchi said.

**[ - ] **

"_Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid, alright?" _

"_Yes, I will."_

"_I'm serious, Kakashi, I'm trusting you on this."_

"_She'll be perfectly fine."_

"_Okay, thanks. I'll talk to you later, good-bye."_

The silver-haired sharingan user sighed after hanging up. That Hikari woman was always so demanding and angry, it scared him sometimes. Kakashi placed the cordless on the dinner table and walked back to the common area. He took a seat on his leather couch and reached for his small, orange book that rested on the coffee table before him.

"Those phone calls are going to be the death of me for the next two months," he sighed before he began reading his favourite novel.

I hope you enjoyed reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own any of the Naruto characters. **

**I hope you enjoy **

**[Chapter Four: Inescapable Grasp!]**

That night, Naruto managed to have Akira home by 12AM on the dot. She was so exhausted from the long travel and the tour around Konoha, all she wanted to do was fall upon the soft, queen sized bed, snuggle underneath the sheets and plant her head on the cold, feather pillows. Akira lazily made her way up the long flight of stairs and down the hallway to finally arrive in her dark room. She crashed the second her head hit the pillows.

[ - ]

"Hey Naruto," Kakashi said once he noticed the spiky hair blonde passing by as he was throwing out the trash in front of his townhouse condo.

"Oh, hey Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto smiled.

"What are you doing up so late?" Kakashi asked as he closed the lid to his garbage can.

Naruto blinked then pointed toward the Oita residence, "I was just dropping Akira back home."

Kakashi sighed and began to scratch his head, "Look Naruto, I need you to make sure nothing bad happens to Akira, I'm under strict orders from her mother."

"Oh, uh yeah sure Kakashi-sensei," Naruto stuttered. "What could possibly go wrong in a matter of 2 months?"

"A lot," Kakashi dryly spat. "I'm counting on you."

Kakashi waved good bye and turned to walk to the entrance of his home. He closed and locked the door before he made his way to his room for a good night rest. He removed his clothes until he remained in his mask, boxers and white wife-beater. He lay back on his comfortable bed and placed his palms beneath his head. Staring up at the dull ceiling, old memories of his days in the ANBU began to flood his head. Finally, about half an hour later, Hatake drifted off to a deep sleep.

"_I can't do this anymore," she cried. _

_Her tears stained her rosy cheeks and dripped from her quivering chin. She clenched the fabric over her chest and continued to cry and wimper. Behind her white ANBU mask was a delicate woman who couldn't help but give into her emotions. Being a ninja was not a fitting occupation for a person like her._

"_I don't want this," she continued. "I'm so sick of this!" _

_He had no idea how to handle situations like these. He awkwardly stood there contemplating how to make the love of his life feel better but failed. The raven haired beauty just stood before her father's newly built and engraved tombstone, crying in pain. _

"_Hikari," Raiden whispered, gently wrapping his arms around Hikari. _

_A sense of strong rage caused the blood in Kakashi's veins to boil. The sight of Raiden even looking at her had Kakashi angrier than the nine-tail fox spirit. _

"_Let's get out of here," Raiden said, stroking through her silky, smooth hair. "You're okay getting home on your own, right Kakashi?"_

_Kakashi didn't bother to answer and leaped out of the peaceful graveyard in complete anger. He hopped from roof to roof with clenched teeth and hands, until he finally arrived right before his home. _

[ - ]

Heavy breathes escaped through her lips, gallons of sweat had dropped from her body and strained her clothes, and her heart was racing so fast, she could hear it in her ears. She nearly collapsed to her knees in exhaustion from the intense cardio her grandmother forced her to complete but, she did not want to show any signs of weakness.

"Now that you're all warmed up, you will learn to use your weapons," Akemi said, while pointing at a nearby table.

Akira quickly looked over and noticed a set of diamond shaped blades, ninja stars and tiny balls completely wrapped in paper. She cocked an eye as she approached the table and reached for a blade.

"These are kunai knives, shuriken and paper bombs," Akemi said. "I have set up targets for you to use, if you do not manage to hit the middle of the target perfectly with each of these weapons, you will not be eating dinner tonight."

"GRANDMA!" Akira exclaimed.

"You are to take orders from me now," Akemi replied. "Now get to it."

Akira's shoulders dropped and a long sigh was released through her lips. She decided to start off with the set of blades first. They felt quit heavy and they looked sharp enough to cut her arm right off. She swallowed hard as she studied the distance between the target and herself. She held it high, and used as much force as she could to throw the knife. Unfortunately, the applied force was not strong enough and the knife barely even reached the target. A large sweat drop dripped at the side of Akemi's head.

"This is going to be a long day…." Akemi sighed.

[ - ]

The bright sun peaked in through the curtains and hit the sleeping Naruto's face. He groaned and turned his body to avoid the bright light that disturbed his sleep.

"So early…" he mumbled into his pillow.

Suddenly, his heart leaped in his chest and his body shot up from his bed. He turned to his bed side table and looked at the time: **1:34PM**. His eyes widened, "OH NO!"

He slipped out of his pajamas and into his usual black and orange jumpsuit. Grabbing the keys and his frog shaped money pouch, he quickly exited his small apartment and sprinted to Akira's place. As he was running through the crowd, his stomach growled loudly. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and tried to ignore its cry of hunger. Unfortunately, the scent of ramen wafted into his nostrils which made his will power much weaker than his preference. _'I'll just grab a quick bite, one shouldn't train with an empty stomach, ya know.' _He thought. He spotted Ichiraku Ramen and leaped for an empty seat. He slammed his hand onto the table and exclaimed for his usual order.

"Naruto! Don't be so loud!" Teuchi yelled.

"I'm sorry old man," Naruto said. "I'm just in a rush!"

Teuchi managed to make the bowl in a matter of 5 minutes, and Naruto slurped it all up in a matter of seconds. Teuchi's eyes widened at the sight of all that soup and ramen noodles splashing about. Naruto dug into his pocket to pull out his pouch and paid Teuchi before sprinting out again.

He finally arrived in front of Akira's home, panting in exhaustion. He attempted to knock on the door but, there was no answer. He frantically looked around him for any signs or clues as to where their training might have taken place but, nothing. Naruto finally decided to go around their home to try to see if they were behind the building. Suddenly, a kunai knife went flying straight at him causing him to scream in fear. Luckily, the kunai knife barely missed him and landed right on the tree trunk just above his head.

"Oh Naruto!" Akira yelled from a far distance. "I'm so sorry!"

Akira jogged over to the fearful Naruto and yanked the knife right out of the trunk, "I didn't think you were going to make it!" she said with a frown.

Naruto laughed nervously, "Ehehe, I kind of over slept."

"Well, I've already finished my training for today, I'm sorry." Akira shrugged, placing the kunai knife in the little pouch Akemi suggested she tied to her thigh.

"Really?" Naruto asked.

Akemi nodded her head just as she approached the two teenagers, "We started at 5 a.m this morning."

"9 hours of training, wow." Naruto said as he watched Akemi walk back around the building.

"Hey Naruto, could I ask you something?" Akira asked.

Naruto blinked and stare blankly at his new, close friend.

"Grandma says that tomorrow's training will be based on chakra skills," Akira explained. "What exactly is chakra?"

A large sweat drop appeared by Naruto's head. Akira could feel her face flush in embarrassment. She was a part of the top 5 students in her private school, but she's never felt so stupid in her life.

"Chakra is a source of energy you use to perform jutsus," Naruto explained. "Jutsus are techniques that ninja use in combat such as: taijutsu, genjutsu or ninjutsu,"

"C-could you demonstrate for me?" Akira asked excitedly.

Naruto grinned. He pointed his first and middle finger up from each hand and placed them together to form the shape of a cross. He paused for a brief moment and Akira felt a strange feeling inside of her. She sensed something strong coming from Naruto. She stepped back and stared then, noticed a blue flames going wild from inside of him. _'Holy crap! That's awesome!' _She thought as she studied his hand signs.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed then a puff of white smoke blinded Akira for a few seconds.

The clouds of smoke slowly started to clear then suddenly revealed a thousand Naruto's surrounding Akira. She jumped in fear as she scanned her surroundings. Every bit of the back field was covered with Naruto's.

"H-H-How…" Akira was speechless. "Y-y-you… YOU HAVE TO TEACH ME!"

Suddenly, all the Naruto's disappeared in the puff of another smoke.

"But shouldn't you leave that to granny Akemi?" Naruto said. "I'm not much of a teacher myself."

"Please, I've done nothing but disappoint grandma all day," Akira replied. "I can't even hit a target properly; please I want to be stronger."

Naruto couldn't help but agree to the begging. Akira was so determined to learn and become stronger, and he admired that trait. He began with the basic steps he remembered from the Ninja Academy. He was impressed but also disappointed in himself when Akira was capable of performing the jutsus he failed back then, perfectly in a matter of 2 hours. After perfecting the basics, he moved on to harder jutsus that required a lot more chakra. He was surprised at her chakra capacity; it seemed to be endless with every jutsu she performed. Soon after, he realized it was getting quite late.

"Akira, it's already 1:25AM, maybe you should go rest since you're training with grant starts in about 3 hours," Naruto suggested.

Akira shook her head as she panted, "I didn't get that last one right, I'll perfect that first before I sleep, I promise." She said before she began to concentrate all her chakra into her jutsu.

Unfortunately, Akira finally hit her limit. No matter how hard she tried, she was already low on chakra and her body was also exhausted from pushing herself so hard. Akira's sight began to blur, her head felt quite light and her knees began to shake. Naruto noticed and sprinted toward her when she completely lost consciousness. He managed to catch her, bridal style, in the nick of time.

"Akira! Are you alright?" Naruto asked.

Akira did not reply. Naruto panicked for a moment until he noticed her chest slowly moving in and out. _'Phew, she just fell asleep…' _he thought. Naruto continued to look until he realized her was staring at her chest and started blushing a thousand shades of red.

"I guess I'll just carry you to your bed," he whispered as he carefully stood up from his knees.

Akira started to snore softly and suck her thumb as he walked around the building. Naruto looked down and smiled at how adorable she was in her sleep. There was an uncanny resemblance of a small, sleeping kitten. He finally broke his imagination by shaking his head back to reality. He reached the front door then noticed it was locked. He cursed under his breath at the difficulties of ringing the doorbell in his position. He shifted the hand used to carry Akira from under her back so it rested on his forearm. He carefully reached for the button with his free hand and successfully pressed it without disturbing her peaceful sleep. The door immediately opened.

"I see you've finally brought my granddaughter back," Akemi said in a strict, angered tone.

Naruto gulped, "I-I-I'm very sorry."

Akemi suddenly smiled, "Oh, I'm just kidding, come on in."

He released a relieved sigh and stepped into the welcoming home with a smile.

"Her room is up the stairs, end of the hallway on your right," Akemi said, pointing in the direction of the staircase.

Naruto nodded and carefully brought the petite ninja-in-training girl to her room. He set her down on her bed then suddenly; Akira wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. She began nuzzling his cheek with hers in her sleep. Naruto frantically waved his arms about, completely unaware and incapable of escaping her strong grip.

"A-Akira! What are you doing!" Naruto asked aloud.

It was no use, Akira was a deep sleeper. Akemi quickly rushed over and gasped. She noticed the spiky haired blonde struggling to escape so she attempted to assist him by separating her arms from each other but, she was unable to do so.

"How did this happen?" Akemi asked, slightly chuckling.

"She just grabbed me!" Naruto replied, still attempting to escape.

"Well, I don't think she'll be releasing you anytime soon," Akemi said. "I guess you don't have a choice but to stay over for the night."

Naruto's face instantly turned red. He was shocked that his grandmother was so trusting in him. _'Aren't relatives protective over their young ones?' _he thought.

"A-Alright…" he whispered.

Akemi switched the lights off and wished the two a good night before closing the door and chuckling away. Naruto kicked his navy blue ninja slippers off and began to climb into bed in a much more comfortable position while binded by her strong arms. The position required Naruto to slip his arm under her neck and lie very close to her. Akira nuzzled her cheeks against his once more before she murmured:

"_Night teddy…"_

**To be continued. **


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own any of the Naruto characters!

Enjoy :3

**[Chapter Five: Awkward Moments]**

Akira felt a warm embrace as she felt herself awake from her deep slumber. It was comfortable and she didn't want to get up from it. Then, she started to wonder what it was because it was definitely not her blanket. Her eyes shot open and she noticed Naruto snoring away as he hugged her in his sleep. Her jaw dropped open in complete surprise. _'HOW THE HECK DID I END UP HERE?' _she thought. She started to panic because she didn't want her grandmother to catch her in bed with a boy, so she attempted to push away from Naruto's tight hug. Unfortunately, it was useless since every part of her party was sore from her massive training the other night.

"Naruto, Naruto, Naruto," she repeated while shaking his body.

"Five…more… minutes," he mumbled.

"No, not five more minutes, NOW!" she yelled.

Naruto's eyes shot open and noticed he was nearly suffocating Akira. He screamed at how close they were and accidentally rolled off the bed. The two started to blush massively in the duration of the awkward moment that filled the silence. Suddenly, the door slowly creaked open and Akira's heart started to pound in fear.

"I see you've finally woken up, Akira," Akemi said. "Did you two have a nice night?"

"Wait, you knew about this?" Akira yelled.

"Why of course," Akemi replied. "You wouldn't let go of Naruto in your sleep, he needed my assistance to pry you off, but even I couldn't do so."

Akira dug her face into her pillow in embarrassment. She couldn't even face her grandmother or Naruto because of how red her face was.

"I-I'm so sorry!" She yelled into her pillow.

Naruto chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head, "It's alright."

"Now, you two hurry on up and get ready," Akemi said. "I've prepared your breakfast downstairs."

Naruto grinned and rushed over to the bathroom across the hall. Akemi slowly walked toward Akira with a soft smile on her face. She took a seat beside her granddaughter and gently pat her head, "It's not such a big deal, Akira." She whispered.

Akira shook her head and lifted her face from the pillow, "Yes it is! Ugh, how could I be so stupid in my sleep?" she replied.

Akemi shook her head in disagreement. She pulled Akira out of bed and pushed her toward the bathroom connected to her room. Akira needed to be fully prepared and willing for the next round of intense training.

[ - ]

_Ring, ring, ring…!_

Kakashi dragged his feet along the wooden floors, toward the dining table where the cordless phone rested. Immediately, he grabbed the phone to silence it from its annoying ringing, "Hello..?"

"KAKASHI!" an angered female voice exclaimed.

"Yes? Who is this?" Kakashi responded calmly.

"Don't pretend like you don't know who this is!" the female screamed.

"Hikari?" he asked.

"YES! Why haven't you returned any of my calls? Where is Akira? Is she alright? Have you been watching over her? Is my mom—"

"Please, calm down, Hikari and let me explain…" Kakashi interrupted.

There was a long awkward pause before Hikari began, "I'm sorry, go on." she sounded as if she were talking through clenched teeth.

"Akira is fine, Akemi reported that she is lacking strength with weaponry, but excels in controlling her chakra due to private training from Naruto…" Kakashi explained.

"PRIVATE TRAINING FROM NARUTO? _THE JINCHURIKI_?" Hikari yelled.

"You know well enough than to judge Naruto; he received excellent training from Jiraiya-sama and has surpassed many of his classmates," Kakashi spat. "He is a fitting tutor with jutsu beginner basics."

Another awkward pause occurred until Hikari spoke again, "I'm sorry, I'm just very worried for her, I don't want anything to happen to my little girl."

"I understand how you feel but, you need to realize that she is surrounded by many people who will protect her no matter what," Kakashi explained. "You also need to realize that we aren't _THAT _weak."

Hikari chuckled, "Alright, alright. Thank-you Kakashi, I'll speak to you soon, good-bye."

"Good-bye, Hikari." Kakashi replied then hung up.

He sighed as she set the phone back down. Suddenly, a loud scream from outside his window was heard. He immediately sprinted toward the window, worried as to what that might be but a sense of relief immediately replaced his worry as he noticed Akemi training both Akira and Naruto.

[ - ]

It had been a solid two weeks of intense training for Akira and she had excelled exceptionally well which gave Akemi a pleasant surprise. She believed that Akira was finally ready for the signature move that the Oita clan was known for.

"Tenbatsu?" Akira cocked her head to the side.

"Yes, it's a powerful jutsu only an Oita clan member can perform," Akemi said in a serious tone. "It requires a large amount of chakra and concentration into a large, lightning stricken arrow."

Akira's eyes widened as her heart rate fastened in excitement.

"This is why you need to get enough rest for tomorrow's training," Akemi ordered. "We will start first thing in the morning."

Akira nodded and walked back into the townhouse condo with her exhausted grandmother. Suddenly, her stomach began to growl in hunger. She clutched her abdomen and jogged into the kitchen for a bite to eat. After opening the refrigerator, she discovered it was completely empty. Akemi chuckled nervously as she began to scratch the back of her head.

"I must have forgotten to go grocery shopping," Akemi said. "Would you mind to grab some take out?"

"Yeah, sure!" Akira replied.

She ran up to her room to grab the little pouch of money her mother gave her back home, then rushed downstairs and out the door. She noticed Kakashi stepping out with that little orange book he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of.

"Good afternoon Kakashi!" Akira said with a smile.

Kakashi poked out of his book and noticed the Hikari look-a-like and returned the greeting.

"Would you like to join me in grabbing some take out for dinner?" Akira asked.

"Uh.. well.. I.. uh.." Kakashi stuttered.

"You don't have to if you have other plans," she interrupted.

Kakashi closed the book and stuffed it into his pouch, "No, I'll accompany you."

Akira smiled and the two began their little walk through the village market place. It was a very pleasant walk since both Akira and Kakashi had a lot to say, and surprisingly a lot in common. Kakashi provided her with some advice for her training while Akira made some little jokes which made him laugh. Then finally, they reached the Japanese restaurant Kakashi suggested for some delicious BBQ pork.

"Is that all?" the waitress asked.

"Oh, may I also have gyoza, yakitori, udon in soup and fried rice, please?" Akira quickly said followed with an innocent smile.

Both the waitress and Kakashi's eyes widened. Akira had such a petite figure and it confused Kakashi as to how someone so small could fit all that food in their body.

"I have a fast metabolism," Akira said, gently patting her stomach. "Inherited from my mother of course."

"R-Right…" Kakashi replied.

"Alright, now will that be for here or to go?" the waitress asked.

"To go, please." Akira said.

The waitress nodded and informed Akira of the price. Just as Akira pulled the pouch of money from her pocket, Kakashi gently stopped her from doing so and paid for the food himself.

"No, no!" Akira said.

"It's alright, it'll be on me." Kakashi smiled.

"Aw thanks, Kakashi!" Akira replied.

After 20 minutes of waiting, the waitress had finally provided the two with the delicious smelling food carefully prepared and packed away in the white cartons. Kakashi asked to hold the food for Akira, but she insisted she'd do it since he volunteered to pay. They made their way out the door and Akira decided this was the perfect time to bring up something that has been bothering her in the duration of her visit.

"So… what's the deal with you and my mom?" Akira asked.

Kakashi jumped at the sudden question. He wasn't sure whether he heard her correctly and overreacted or he actually heard what he heard.

"W-W-What?" Kakashi stuttered

"What's going on with you and my mom?" Akira asked with a serious face.

"Why nothing's going on between us, why would you ask such a question?" Kakashi said, as he felt his face grow hot underneath his mask.

"My grandmother says you two have history together," Akira said with a smile. "But didn't specify on it."

"No, no, t-there's no history between us," Kakashi said, beginning to walk faster.

Akira caught up with him and matched his speed, "Please? I'd really like to know!"

"Akira, I'd love to give you details on such stories but, there are no stories to provide you details with, I'm sorry." Kakashi said.

Akira's shoulders slumped as she sighed, "Ah well…"

The rest of the walk home was completely silent. Akira felt bad about making Kakashi feel awkward and wanted to apologize, but didn't want to interrupt his readings. So, she decided that the best apology was to remain quiet and let him read his favourite novel. They finally arrived at their residences after 10 minutes and were moments to depart until Akira decided to invite him over for dinner.

"Oh no, I should get some rest anyway," Kakashi said with a small smile.

"Alright, thank-you for paying and I'm sorry about earlier!" Akira said.

"It's okay, Akira, good night." Kakashi said then closed the door behind him.

Akira frowned then headed inside as well.

[ - ]

"_Then come with me, let's leave Konoha and live a better life, Kakashi!" she said, grabbing both his arms. _

_Kakashi placed his hands on her shoulders and started intently into her evergreen eyes, "Hikari…as much as I'd want to do that, I can't just run away from my home…"_

"_But you said you loved me and you'd do anything for me!" Hikari cried. _

"_I know but, it is my duty to the village… to my father… I know he's watching over me and I need to make him proud, I'm sorry." Kakashi said, fighting back the painful feeling in his chest._

_He wiped the tears from her soft cheeks and took her into a tender embrace. As much as he wanted to leave and be with her for as long as he lived, he just couldn't find himself to do it. He wouldn't be a true ninja if he gave into his emotions so easily. He held her so tightly and never wanted to let go. _

"_Just stay here… and I'll protect you forever." He tried to convince her. _

"_I can't do that either Kakashi," Hikari said. "I'm sorry too." _

_She gently pulled away from the hug and stared into the eye he revealed. Tears escaped her eyes as she reached for the navy blue mask. She slowly pulled it off as she inched closer to her lover. Her eyes slowly shut as well as his. _

"_I… I'll love you always…" Kakashi whispered. _

_Hikari wrapped her arms around his neck while Kakashi cupped her cheek with his right hand and held her from behind her head with his left. She pressed herself against his built physique until their lips finally crashed. _


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own any of the Naruto characters

Enjoy :D

**[Chapter Six: Hot Springs and Nose Bleeds]**

Akemi was especially strict in today's training. She did not allow Naruto to participate because this was a restricted jutsu that only Oita family members were to learn. Akemi was in a state that Akira had never seen before… a state she did not want her sweet grandmother to be in. But, learning a sacred, signature jutsu had to come with a price.

Akira's job was to summon a special, golden bow from a specific scroll then, concentrate all her chakra into creating a giant lightning stricken arrow in which that certain bow could only withstand. Akira bit the tip of her thumb to allow it to bleed then, quickly unravelled the scroll and wiped her bleeding thumb across the ink drawn circle. She pressed both her hands down the middle of the blood stained circle and used a small amount of her chakra. A puff of smoke blew out, blinding the training konoichi for a moment then, finally revealed a golden plated bow, the size of nearly half her body. A large sweatdrop appeared on the side of Akira's head as she gulped hard at the intimidating weapon.

"This looks… quite heavy," Akira shakily stated.

"Don't worry, it's as light as a kunai knife," Akemi said.

Akira nodded then tried to remember the hand signals she needed to perform in order to have this jutsu work out perfectly. She needed to do the dragon, then bird, then horse hand signals in that exact order. She did so then shut her eyes to concentrate on her physical and mental energy to manipulate the chakra flow inside of her to create the giant arrow. Akemi crossed her arms over her chest as she observed Akira's stance. She shook her head in disappointment. _'She's not concentrating…' _

Akira felt her body move by itself. Her arm stuck out before her and a bright line started to form above her hand. It formed into the shape of an arrow; it's size around 15 cm… a significant difference in size from the golden bow.

"Too small." Akemi spat.

Akira frowned and released the horse hand signal, causing the arrow to disappear. Akemi encouraged her to keep trying and she'd only be successful in completing this jutsu when the arrow is 2 metres in length. Akira nodded and continued her training.

[ - ]

"So do you think that's a good idea or what Pervy-sage?" Naruto asked after swallowing the remainder of his ramen soup.

"That's a terrible idea!" the white-haired perv spat.

Naruto's head dropped, along with his jaw.

"A woman should be treated to a romantic stroll in the park, a candle lit dinner, or a romantic-comedy movie NOT a dangerous spar, Ichiraku ramen and a horror film," Jiraiya said, smacking the blonde on the head.

"But, Akira is not that type of girl; she is strong and independant!" Naruto exclaimed, rubbing the bump on his head.

Jiraiya looked at the boy and smiled, "You must really like her, huh?"

Naruto blushed madly then looked into his empty bowl. He released a long sigh before slowly nodding his head. Jiraiya laughed and pat the troubled teen gently on his bad.

"Is she_** cute**_?" Jiraiya asked in a taunting tone.

"Yes! She has long, silky black hair, big brown eyes, skin as soft as a baby's bum, the scent of lavender, and curves like a **vase**," Naruto explained while creating a shape of a vase with his hands in the air.

"She does sound cute…" Jiraiya said with a perverted smile creeping on his lips.

Naruto punched the top of his head and growled, "HEY PERVY SAGE! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!"

"_Akira-chaaaan~" _

A high pitched voice exclaimed, causing Naruto's right ear to pulse and enlarge. He quickly peeped through the flaps that hung as walls for Ichiraku and noticed Sakura linking arms with a slumped and beaten Akira. It seemed as if Sakura were dragging her to a place Akira didn't want to go but was forced to because of Sakura's extreme strength. For the entirety of Akira's visit, Sakura had been making quite the effort to spend as much time as she could with Akira in order to have her become her "best friend". Akira didn't seem to mind since she found Sakura a cool person. It was easier to hang around Sakura since they could relate to a lot more things with each other such as shopping, weight, and the dreaded **time of month**.

Jiraiya also peeked between the flaps and gasped once he spotted Akira. '_Hikari? No it can't be…' _he thought. He dragged his sight over to Naruto and noticed his eyes were completely on her. _'That must be one of her kids… wow, she is just as beautiful as her mother.' _

"They're hitting the springs, let's roll." Jiraiya whispered over Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto's jaw dropped in shock, "HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT FROM JUST LOOKING AT THEM?"

A large sweatdrop appeared at the side of Jiraiya's head as he pointed in the building to where they were heading, "I didn't guess Naruto, they're headed straight for it…"

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment before he realized what Jiraiya planned to do in the springs.

"NO! WE CAN'T JUST PEEP AT…"

Naruto's sentence was suddenly interrupted by his imagination of Akira in a towel. His hormones were uncontrollable at this moment as a perverted grin spread across his face and blood started to run out from his nostrils. Jiraiya slapped Naruto silly and the blonde was finally pulled back to reality. He grabbed Jiraiya's wrist and began dragging him toward the springs.

"So how's your training going?" Sakura asked as she continued to hold onto Akira.

"It's tough," Akira responded. "I still haven't perfected Tenbatsu."

"Well, you deserve a break," Sakura cheered. "You've been training so hard!"

They stopped before the entrance of the hot springs and Akira smiled. She nodded in agreement with the fact that she deserves a break and she's been working hard. The two walked in through the sliding doors and quickly paid for an hour in the springs. Jiraiya and Naruto quickly followed. They immediately headed for the change room to avoid Sakura or Akira spotting their existence within the springs.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this; I'm beginning to feel guilty…" Naruto pouted, as he wrapped a towel around his waist after undressing.

"It's not like we're going to get caught," Jiraiya snickered.

Naruto hesitantly followed Jiraiya into the hot springs. He poked the water with his toe before dipping his entire body in, sending a pleasurable and relaxing feeling throughout his body.

"This is going to be great!" Jiraiya giggled, trudging through the water. "You're first time peeping! How exciting."

He stopped before the wall that separated the men's side of the springs from the women's and began pulling on a rock. He removed it from in front of the wall and revealed a small hole. Naruto sunk deeply into the water until everything above his eyes were only revealed.

"I created this hole years ago and haven't gotten caught since!" Jiraiya presented. "Go on, take a look!"

Naruto shook his head in fear. He began thinking of the gruesome consequences Sakura may give him if he _did _get caught which caused him to move further away from the hole. Jiraiya's shoulders dropped as disappointment crushed his perverted spirits. He sighed then smiled as he began to understand Naruto's feelings.

"I need to pee, be right back." Naruto said, then quickly rushed to the washroom.

"You're a good kid, Naruto…" Jiraiya said as he began to cover the hole back up.

"_WHAT THE HELL, THERE'S SOMEONE PEEPING INTO THE GIRLS' HOT SPRINGS!" _

Jiraiya's eyes widened and his entire body stiffened. A loud crash filled the silence and the entire wall broke into pieces only to reveal a tempered Sakura in a wet towel with her bulging fist in the air. Akira hid herself in the hot water and backed away from the crazy woman that broke the wall down in a matter of seconds.

"JIRAIYA… YOU PERVERT!" Sakura yelled before throwing a strong punch at the white-haired elder.

He went flying straight into the other side of the spring, leaving a huge dent in the wall. Sakura growled then stuck her nose up in the air as she started to walk away. Akira was concerned for the old man as she watched him twitch on the wall with a bloody nose. She let her conscience get the better of her then quickly trudged through the water, and attempted to assist Jiraiya off the wall.

"Are you alright, sir?" she asked.

"Boy that girl can really throw a punch," he said while rubbing his nose.

"Holy crap, what happened in here?" Naruto asked, rushing into the springs.

"Sakura happened…" Akira replied as she tried to lift Jiraiya up.

"I'm alright thank-you," said Jiraiya. "Argh, I think I'm going to go clean myself up in the washroom, I'll be right back."

Jiraiya slowly exited the springs, leaving Naruto and Akira alone.

Naruto chuckled, "Pervy-sage, always gettin' into troub-"

Suddenly, the blonde stopped mid-sentence once he noticed how small the towel was wrapped around Akira. Akira's eye brow cocked in confusion from Naruto's sudden reaction. He tried to speak but, none of the words seemed to come out of his throat. His heart began to race as he panicked about how to handle this awkward situation. Suddenly, he could feel the blood dripping from his nose and it was all over. Akira gasped and immediately started wiping the blood away.

"Oh man, that was sudden," Akira said, after wiping every drop with the towel.

Naruto's face suddenly blushed a thousand shades of red, and his eyes grew so wide. Akira was confused yet again.

"What's wrong now?" Akira asked.

Naruto pointed downward. Akira didn't realize that she used that towel wrapped around herself to wipe the blood away. She was completely **naked **before him**. **She immediately covered herself and ducked into the water after screaming in embarrassment. Naruto quickly covered his eyes after screaming as well.

"WHAT'S WRONG?" both Sakura and Jiraiya rushed into the springs.

Akira quickly wrapped herself in the blood stained towel and ran out after grasping Sakura's arm. Naruto remained standing there with his eyes closed and his nose bleeding buckets. Jiraiya started to laugh hard at the current situation. He grabbed Naruto's wrist and pulled him back into the change room.

"Alright hot shot, let's go."

To Be Continued….


	7. Chapter 7

[Chapter 7: Mission Possible!]

I do not own any of the original Naruto characters.

PLEASE ENJOY :D

P.S I apologize for updating so late. I had a crapload of work to catch up on along with midterms D:

[ - ]

It had been nearly a week since Akira last spoken with Naruto. Just the thought of that night sent shivers down her spine so, she put it off as much as possible and decided to focus all her time and energy into training. Akemi put Akira through brutality however, achieved significant results. She surpassed the ninja level of genin and decided to take action in making her granddaughter into an official ninja of the leaf. Akemi spoke with Iruka-sensei and the board of the Ninja Academy and settled an agreement for a crash course Akira could attend to prepare her for the final examination. The board was doubtful and resistant toward this so they held an audition for Akira.

"Don't be nervous, Akira, you'll do fine." Akemi reassured her granddaughter, gently rubbing her back to calm her racing heart.

"Thanks grandma," Akira sighed before stepping through the entrance of the small room where her audition was being held.

Four middle aged ninja sat side-by-side along a stretched wooden table, looking at the raven haired Oita sternly. She swallowed hard as she stood before them.

"Good afternoon," Akira said quietly before bowing.

"Good afternoon, Akira," Iruka-sensei smiled. "We have a number of jutsu for you to perform, are you ready?"

"Yes, sir!" Akira straightened her back and could feel the chakra inside her fire up.

One of the board members that sat to the right of Iruka-sensei stood and held a sign with Japanese characters that wrote "clone".

"Please perform the clone jutsu," he said then planted his bum back onto his wooden chair.

_Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog. _Akira swiftly performed the hand signals and a puff of smoke appeared to the left of her. Once the smoke cleared, a perfect clone of her appeared, smiling back at her. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she smiled back. Akira managed to do the remaining jutsu perfectly and was asked to leave the room for a brief moment. She slid the door open and closed it behind her, only to lean back on it in exhaustion.

"How did it go?" Akemi asked.

"I think I aced it," Akira responded.

Akira could feel the door move behind her and she immediately lifted herself and turned only to notice Iruka-sensei poke his head outside. He had a wide grin on his face, which gave Akira a sense of relief and happiness.

"Congratulations, Akira, you have been accepted into the Ninja Academy," Iruka said. "Now, I shall inform you of the ground rules."

Akira nodded her head swiftly and listened intently.

"Since you have incredible skill, it will only take 14 days to train you, but in the duration of these 14 days you are to attend every class on time, no tardiness," Iruka explained. "If you are late, you will be placed in detention. If you are ill you must bring a note the day you come back, otherwise you will be sent to the head office to discuss a punishment. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Akira said.

[ - ]

"Chicken Cutlet Ramen," Teuchi said then gently placed the hot bowl and platter of fried chicken in front of the starving blonde.

"Thanks old man," Naruto groaned as he slowly reached for a pair of chopsticks.

"What's wrong with you, Naruto?" Teuchi asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Naruto slurped the noodles then swallowed hard, "The old hag has been giving me lame missions lately! She's assigning me another one later today and I can only pray that it's not another D rank mission."

"_Please Kakashi-sensei, I beg of you, let me join you!" _

The familiar voice made Naruto jump. He gulped the last of his ramen then twisted his body to see where the voice was coming from. There she was, Akira begging Kakashi-sensei for something. His eyebrows grew close together as he continued to eavesdrop on their conversation; however the hustle and bustle of the market place it out. The two started to drift away into the crowd and Naruto was much too curious to just sit for another bowl. He reached into his pouch, lay the money on the table and sprinted.

Naruto tried his best to follow them through the busy crowd but eventually lost sight of them. But, following them somehow brought him to the Hokage's office building. He slumped his shoulders then made his way into the building. He reached the top floor and entered Tsunade-sama's office. He noticed a beautiful blonde woman, not many years older than him, dressed in professional business attire.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Naruto." Tsuande huffed.

"Naruto, this is your client for today, Midori." Shizune introduced. "You will be escorting her to the Village of Sand."

Midori smiled and placed her hand before Naruto for a shake. He accepted and bowed slightly. Shizune approached the hot-headed hokage and whispered into her ear. Tsunade rustled through the scattered papers on her desk and scowled.

"Hmmm... this is strange..." Tsunade whispered

"What's the matter?" Naruto asked.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone available to assist you and Kakashi on this mission." She responded without taking her eyes off the desk.

"Agh Granny Tsunade, we don't need another team member," Naruto groaned. "Just the two of us is enough for a babysitting mission..."

"Naruto, shut your mouth," Tsunade hissed. "This woman is the CEO of the popular Yakiniku Q located in almost every village in the Land of Fire!"

Naruto blinked and turned to the timid, petite, young blonde standing beside Shizune. She seemed much too young to obtain such a high ranked job.

"She deals with millions upon millions of ryo and enemy nin from the Land of Sound have been hired to capture her as a ransom," Tsunade yelled. "So, I suggest you take this mission very seriously!"

Tsunade's rant was interrupted by a gentle knock on the door. She called for them to enter and Akira's head popped into the room. Naruto felt his entire body turn hot once he noticed his beautiful friend float past him and stop before the heated blonde leader. Kakashi and Akemi immediately followed behind the young konoichi in training.

"What's going on here?" Tsunade spat, eyeing Akira up and down.

Kakashi placed a hand upon Akira's shoulder and smiled under his mask, "This will be the team mate that will accompany us to the Sand."

Both Naruto and Shizune's jaws' dropped. Tsunade punched her fist onto the desk as she shot a glare straight at Kakashi.

"Do you think this is a joke? She isn't qualified for such a dangerous mission, she hasn't even graduated as a genin!" Tsunade yelled.

"Actually, we arranged a crash course with the Academy that lasted for about 2 weeks and I graduated just a couple of hours ago," Akira smiled, flashing her brand new headband that replaced her fathers'.

Tsunade shook her head, "You have no experience."

"Although I have no experience, I have the determination and skills required for even an A-rank mission!" Akira exclaimed.

"You trained for just 2 weeks and you think you have the will to KILL another ninja? Life here is different than America, princess." Tsunade hissed.

"I won't hesitate anything if it means my teammate is at risk of death," Akira sternly responded. "Just give me one chance to prove I have potential, please."

Tsunade released a long sigh and shot a look at Kakashi. She rubbed the temples of her head as she closed her eyes. Shaking her head in disappointment, she reached for the pen and quickly signed Akira's name on the mission statement.

"Akemi, you are to accompany Team Kakashi as well," Tsunade sighed.

Akemi nodded her head, "Yes, of course."

Akira smiled and leaped forward for a hug. Tsunade was completely caught off guard and had no idea how to react since this wasn't the type of reaction any of the Konoha nin have ever had when given a mission. She awkwardly hugged Akira before yanking her off.

"Now go get some rest, you are departing from Konoha tomorrow at 5AM." Tsunade said before dismissing Team Kakashi from her office.

Akira's eyes met Naruto's as they made their way toward the exit. Akira immediately looked away as she felt the temperature in her face rapidly rise. Naruto frowned and decided to overcome his fear of Akira causing him serious bodily injury. He gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him. This had taken her by complete surprise, causing Akira to make an awkward and sudden turn having her legs twist and her foot trip over the other. She immediately lost her balance, falling toward Naruto. He quickly reacted and caught her before they both fell to the ground. Her nose was touching his.

"You okay?" he smiled.

She smiled back, still blushing, "Yeah, thanks."

Akira pulled away from Naruto, still feeling embarrassed.

"I'm sorry!" the two said simultaneously.

The two continued to interrupt one another until Akira finally spoke, "Look, I overreacted that night, sorry for all the trouble." She said as she felt her face blush.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously, "There's really nothing to apologize, I shouldn't have looked anyway."

Akira shrugged and a warm smile lightened the mood between them. Naruto could feel his heart sink in his chest at the wonderful sight. Suddenly, she linked arms with the nervous blonde and dragged him toward the staircase that led to the exit.

"C'mon, let me show you how much I've improved this past week!"


	8. Chapter 8

Akira pulled him all the way to the open, quiet field. The cool breeze gently blew against the green grass, emphasizing the lengths of each leaf blade. Naruto stood, awaiting for Akira to present the Oita clan's signature jutsu. She nodded her head and leaped a good distance away from him. As she leapt away, she managed to pull out the scroll from the pouch wrapped around her left thigh and summon the golden bow required for this jutsu. Naruto was impressed by her speed for she had significantly improved in just a week.

"Nice!" He exclaimed.

She gathered all the chakra needed and shaped it into a giant arrow. She managed to do this in a matter of 30 seconds which was again, something that impressed Naruto. Akira scanned her surroundings for any of the targets she used for training and spotted one nearly a kilometre away. Shutting one eye, she analyzed her aim before pulling the chakra arrow back with the string of the bow and releasing it. The blow of the arrow was so powerful, it pulled out the grass it flew over and completely pierced through and destroyed the red and white target along with the log that held it up. A small smirk crept her lips as she slowly set the bow down by her side. Naruto's eyes widened as he examined the state of the broken target and log and gulped hard.

"That's not all," Akira giggled. "I've been working hard on my taijutsu as well!"

She quickly unrolled the scroll and gently set the bow inside the ink circle. She clapped her hands together and he bow disappeared into a puff of smoke. After rolling the scroll back up, she got into a fighting stance, giving Naruto the implication to attack her. Naruto smirked and accepted her taijutsu challenge as he got into a similar stance.

"YOU'RE ON!" Naruto exclaimed before sprinting into battle.

It was an even match between the two as they lasted an entire 3 minutes without landing a single hit on each other. They dodged every punch, kick, and kunai that was thrown. Everything was so fast that if a witness were to blink, they've already missed 10 moves.

'_How did she get this strong in just a matter of weeks?' _Naruto thought in frustration as he put full force into all his attacks but failed to land a hit on Akira. He leaped backward and summoned 5 shadow clones to jump at her. His plan was to distract her with the others then attack her from behind. Akira quickly made the clones disappear then frantically scanned her surrounding for the real Naruto.

"I win." She heard him whisper in her ear as she noticed him pointing a kunai knife at her throat.

"I don't think so," Akira chuckled.

The girl Naruto seemed to be pointing his knife at suddenly disappeared into a puff of smoke which caused Naruto to panic and look around. Suddenly, a hand broke out from underneath him and tightly grasped at his left foot. Naruto screamed in fear but before he could leap away, he was pulled into the ground until only his head poked out.

"H-HOW—" Naruto stuttered.

"Kakashi taught me that one," Akira winked as she looked down at the body-less Naruto.

Suddenly, Akira felt Naruto's hot breath blow against the back of her neck. Her heart skipped a beat causing her eyes to widen and jaw to drop.

"You sure have improved since I first met you!" Naruto said. "However, you still have to manage to keep your guard up at ALL times."

Akira pouted as a sense of disappointment overwhelmed her short victory. She slowly turned her body and put out a hand for him to shake. She forced a small smile upon her lips to present herself as a good sport to her loss. Naruto smiled and accepted the shake.

"_Ayo Naruto!" _

Naruto's body suddenly stiffened and his grip onto Akira's hand tightened. Akira peeked over Naruto's shoulder and noticed a tall, late-aged man with long, spiky grey hair. Her sight drifted back to Naruto's awkward position and slowly pointed behind him, "Naruto? Some old man's calling out to you, aren't you going to turn around?"

He swiftly shook his head, "N-N-NO LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"

He grabbed Akira's arm and was seconds away from hitting the road however, the old man had a strong grip on his white collar, preventing him from doing so. Naruto struggled to escape the man's grasp.

"Now don't be rude Naruto, aren't you going to introduce me to your _friend?_" the man asked with a sly smirk on his face.

Akira put out her hand before him and introduced herself, "Hello, I'm Akira Oita."

"You're quite the looker aren't you?" the man said.

Akira could feel her face blush as she awkwardly stared at the creepy smile the man sent her. Naruto managed to escape and yell at the man. He only chuckled before he put his hands up in front of himself to protect him from the raging blonde.

"Alright, I apologize," he said, accepting Akira's hand shake. "My name is Jiraiya Monogatari, Naruto's mentor."

"You must be some mentor, you've trained Naruto very well!" Akira cheered.

Jiraiya chuckled and scratched the back of his head, "Ah well, I try."

"If you don't mind, could you maybe give me some pointers on my ninjutsu?" Akira asked.

"I'm sorry kid, I don't have ti-" Jiraiya was interrupted by the puppy dog eyes and pout Akira was performing for him. She looked so innocent and cute, it had both Jiraiya _and _Naruto blushing.

"How could I say no to a face like that?"he said.

[ - ]

"_Just as we planned… Tsunade is sending some of her little ninja students to escort Midori." _

"_Don't be so quick to judge, the white fang is among them." _

"_Yes but, some American girl is as well and Kakashi can't manage to protect them all."_

"_Do you remember the plans?"_

"_Midori's capture is our objective and we eliminate __**anything **__that gets in our way."_


End file.
